Indigenous peoples are custodians of over a third of the world's tropical forests.

Judge against scientific estimates available around November 2021. TRUE: credible estimates (for example FAO, peer-reviewed studies or Rights and Resources Initiative data) put the share of the world's tropical forests on lands that Indigenous peoples own, manage or steward at over one third. MOSTLY TRUE: estimates put it at about a third (roughly 30 to 33%), or the figure covers Indigenous peoples together with closely associated tribal peoples. MOSTLY FALSE: the over-one-third figure applies only to one region, such as Latin America, rather than the world, or only to a combined 'Indigenous peoples and local communities' category that substantially inflates the Indigenous share. Mostly false also applies if global estimates are 25 to 30%. FALSE: credible global estimates put the share well below a third, under about 25%.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Significance of Community-Held Territories in 24 Countries to Global Climate - Rainforest Foundation US | Protecting Rainforests in Partnership with Indigenous Peoples Rainforest Foundation US (press release on RRI, Woodwell and RFUS research) · 6 November 2021

   “These landscapes are held and managed by indigenous peoples (IPs), Afro-descendant peoples (ADPs), and local communities (LCs) in 24 of the world’s most forested countries and 60% of the planet’s tropical forest area.”

2. E2 Significance of Community-Held Territories in 24 Countries to Global Climate - Rights + Resources - Supporting Forest Tenure, Policy, and Market Reforms Rights and Resources Initiative (with Woodwell Climate Research Center and Rainforest Foundation US) · 5 November 2021

   “Our findings indicate that Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendant Peoples, and local communities customarily hold and use at least 958 million hectares (mha) of land in the 24 reviewed countries but have legally recognized rights to less than half of this area (447 mha).”

3. E3 The Context of Tropical Rainforest Deforestation and Degradation PubMed Central (book chapter, Springer, Chap. 10.1007/978-3-319-63236-0_2) · 15 November 2017

   “Indigenous Peoples “and other local communities {who} formally own or have legal rights to manage more than 270 million hectares of forest in Latin America—almost 40 percent of the total forest area.”

4. E4 Indigenous lands hold 36% or more of remaining intact forest landscapes Mongabay · 16 January 2020

   “More than one-third of the world’s remaining pristine forests, known as intact forest landscapes, exist within land that’s either managed or owned by indigenous peoples, a new study has found.”

5. E5 The Context of Tropical Rainforest Deforestation and Degradation PubMed Central (NCBI), reproducing a book chapter (Chap. 10.1007/978-3-319-63236-0_2, Springer) · 15 November 2017

   “Indigenous Peoples “and other local communities {who} formally own or have legal rights to manage more than 270 million hectares of forest in Latin America—almost 40 percent of the total forest area.”

6. E6 Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Hold At Least 958 Million Hectares Of Land With Most Endangered Tropical Forests Scoop (press release from Rights and Resources Initiative, Woodwell Climate Research Center and Rainforest Foundation US) · 7 November 2021

   “These landscapes are held and managed by Indigenous Peoples (IPs), Afro-descendant Peoples (ADPs), and local communities (LCs) in 24 countries that are home to 60% of the planet’s tropical forest area.”

7. E7 Significance of community-held territories in 24 countries to global climate - Woodwell Climate Woodwell Climate Research Center · 6 November 2021

   “Tropical forest area is calculated using data from FAO.”

8. E8 A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation - Nature Sustainability Nature Sustainability (Springer Nature) · 16 July 2018

   “This represents over a quarter of the world’s land surface, and intersects about 40% of all terrestrial protected areas and ecologically intact landscapes (for example, boreal and tropical primary forests, savannas and marshes).”

None of the evidence gives a global estimate of the share of the world's tropical forests held by Indigenous peoples specifically. E4 and E8 report figures of over one third or about 40% for Indigenous lands, but they measure intact forest landscapes or ecologically intact landscapes worldwide, including boreal forests, not all tropical forests. E3/E5 cover Latin America only, and they combine Indigenous peoples with local communities. E1, E2 and E6 cover a combined Indigenous, Afro-descendant and local-community category in 24 countries, so none of these items settles the claim under the criteria.